Planning and Managing Student Homework (Assignments)

By definition, homework constitutes the out-of-class activities that the teachers assign to students. These activities are an extension to schoolwork. Homework can include practice assignments that emphasize newly acquired skills. It can be in the form of preparation assignments to make students ready for class activities. Projects that have to be worked on in parallel with schoolwork also form a part of homework. This project work may continue throughout the term or the entire academic year. In these activities students apply their academic skills to create a piece of work through research.

When used effectively, homework provides many benefits including but not limited to.
•gives students another opportunity to review the class material
•helps students prepare for the next day learning material
•helps students show their knowledge and skills when they cannot find the opportunity in class (shy, short time)
•helps students become independent learner
•gives students another opportunity to review the class material
•gives parents a chance to see what is being learned in school
•teaches students to take responsibility for their education
•helps students develop time management
•helps with peer-interaction (group work)
•teaches students the importance of planning, staying organized and taking action
•fulfills public, district and state expectations.

However, in order to use homework effectively, teachers must know how to plan and manage student homework. The following steps are guide to planning and managing student homework effectively.

Step 1: Planning for the homework
Teachers should plan each homework before announcing to the students. This step is especially crucial for long term assignments such as projects and term papers. The preparation includes the following steps:.

Always start with objectives of homework: Before deciding on a homework, teachers should think about determining what students will gain from the homework. The nature and construction of each assignment should reflect the learning goals you articulated when you created your course curriculum. This will help teachers match the homework activity with a learning goal, assign appropriate homework at instructional levels that match students' skills and provide positive consequences for homework completion, and help students understand why the homework is given and why it is important for them.

Create list of problems/topics for students to work through rather than asking them to come up with: When students are asked to choose a topic to work on or problem to solve on their own such as a science project, it takes a lot of time for students to come up with a topic that they would like to work on. Many times, they will choose a topic and change their mind later on delaying the project completion and causing waste of time and effort because they learned that the topic they choose may need more time than they need, costs a lot, un-doable due to some reasons etc. However, when teacher lists some appropriate topics for the project and let students choose a topic from the list with the option of choosing their own, things will certainly get easier. Students focus on the list and they spend less time during decision making. Therefore, students can start the project very quickly.

Create a handout detailing homework instructions: Teachers should present each homework in writing clearly outlining the assignment description, specific expectations, form and format of the assignment (pencil, pen, typed, type of paper etc.), how many pages etc. including the due dates on top. If the assignment is a group project, the handout should provide the list of divided work for each individual member. Handouts also help students and teacher when students miss class during assignment announcement.

Build Rubric or Checklist for grading: A rubric or evaluation checklist is needed whenever possible in order to help students understand what level of quality is expected from them. Using rubric or checklist allows teachers to make more precise and useful measurements because, unlike conventional grading methods in the areas of language arts and reading, rubric or checklist list criteria necessary to attain graduated levels of mastery. In addition, using these tools gives teachers the ability to set up criteria for each phase of an assignment. For example, when evaluating an oral presentation, the teacher assigns a grade based on a number of factors, including vocal projection, content, nonverbal language, and the ability to capture and maintain audience attention. The teacher can construct the rubric or evaluation checklist to list each of these criteria with varying levels of performance, ranging from, for example, "fails to make eye contact" to "uses facial gestures to emphasize remarks" under the nonverbal language area.

Have a completed project (sample) ready: Students understand what to do much better when they see an example of the end product they will be building. Whether it is a science project or term paper, showing students a completed version of an assignment beforehand will help them understand the expectations better. One sample can be shown to all students or pass around during assignment announcement.

Decide on a due date: Based on your previous experience with the assignment, teachers should be able to come up with a reasonable due date for the given homework.

Plan for consequences for late or incomplete work: No matter how carefully you plan the entire process, teachers should always be decision-ready for consequences for late or incomplete work. Partial grade? Extension of due date with lower maximum possible score?
While some teachers prefer to choose the policy of "No late submission, period" because they believe that they are teaching students "important life lesson" by not accepting late assignments, others choose to use penalty for each day the student is late such as 10% grade penalty a day. It is up to the teacher to choose what policy to follow however, it is important to consider that each policy has important implications. For instance, the first policy "No late submission, period" leaves no room for students to even try completing their homework after the due date. However, it should be recognized that when a student is given another chance to submit their work, and s/he actually returns it the next day knowing that a penalty will be applied to her/his score, it still shows that students is trying to be responsible for his/her work. Remember, a student not showing any interest at all, is not expected to show up with the completed work the next day anyway. On the other hand, the second policy "extension with penalty" creates the problem of leaving less room for the next assignment or other assignments from other classes. For example, if a student is still working on a late assignment, then probability of the second assignment being completed late will be much higher. Therefore, late assignment submission becomes a habit. Again, it is up to the teacher to choose the late submission policy, the important thing is that once chosen, teachers should be firm on their policy.

Step 2: Announcing the Homework
In order to receive the highest return rate from an assignment given to students, teachers should also plan the announcing the homework. The following strategies would be helpful.

Show and tell: In addition to telling students what the assignment is, and providing the handouts, teachers should post instructions on a board or projector. A short PowerPoint presentation can be displayed on projector detailing the assignment requirements. This will also gives students a chance to ask their questions and discuss any concerns they may have.

Go over rubric or evaluation checklist: Just because you have prepared a rubric or checklist does not mean students will have the full understanding of what to do. Teachers should go over the evaluation tool and explain step by step how their assignment will be evaluated.

Show sample product: Assuming that you have a completed end product (from last year), show the sample to your students and explain that their project will be similar.

Discuss the due date: Explain what the due date for the assignment and ask for their confirmation on whether it is reasonable. Even though this would be easier to do this with higher grade students, it certainly creates a positive environment.

Discuss consequences for late or incomplete work: Clearly describe your policy and let students know you are firm about your decisions. However, also consider special circumstances where exceptions can be made (death in family, long term sickness etc.).

Plan for absent students: When absent, students miss instruction, directions for assignments, and assistance they need. For large-critical assignments, teachers should establish time to meet with students to explain missing assignment and assist them with instruction they have missed. In addition teachers should prepare in advance if absent students are expected due to religious holidays etc.

Step 3: Monitoring Homework Progress
One of the biggest barriers for getting a high return rate on given assignment is that students usually do not start on their work until the due date gets closer. This is why teachers should always consider a process for monitoring assignment progress especially for long-term assignments.

Create checkpoints: One of the effective methods is to create checkpoints where student work or report is collected at each stage and feedback is provided. In order to accomplish this, teacher can create several dates (monthly report on a three-month science project) for students to provide a small report on their work completed so far. Teacher should determine the specific requirements for each checkpoint and ask students to bring their progress report with evidences (data, pictures etc.).

Provide feedback at each checkpoint: When students provide their work progress during each checkpoint, teacher should provide detailed feedback so that students know they are on the right track. This will help eliminate the errors or misunderstanding for the assignment requirements. Teacher should remember that if s/he expects students to submit reports on time, then s/he must be prompt in returning the feedback to them.

Step 4: Collecting Homework
Stay firm with the due date: Considering that you set a reasonable due date for the assignment completion, and confirmed it with your students, due date should not change. Constantly changing assignment due dates should be avoided at all costs.

Collect homework at the beginning of class: If you wait until the end of the class session, students will feel they can come late and still get the assignment in "on time" or borrowing another students ideas/assignments.

Step 5: Homework Evaluation and Feedback

Evaluate work as stated: If a teacher constructed a rubric for the assignment evaluation, then the rubric should be the tool for evaluating the work. Teachers should avoid requiring additional evaluation criteria, extra points for additional work especially during or after the announcement of the assignment as it will confuse the students.

Evaluate timely: Again, if teacher expects students to submit assignments on time, then s/he must be prompt in evaluating and returning the feedback to them. Provide a deadline and stick with it.

Provide detailed feedback: Students are expected to spend a lot of time on their assignments and without providing detailed feedback such as "great job, keep up the good work" should simply be avoided. Feedback should be constructive and not subjective, specific and clear, and about something students can change for their future work. Providing detailed feedback has many benefits: It encourages students and build their confidence by letting them know what they are doing well, supports them in diagnosing their strengths and weaknesses, keep them on track so they meet the course goals and unit objectives and help them improve future performance. It is vital that feedback is provided to students before the next assignment is due so that they have time to digest your feedback and integrate it into the next assignment.

Step 6: Solving Problems with Homework Completion
Every teacher dreams of receiving 100% on assignment return rate. However, teachers should expect the unexpected. When a student stops doing homework, teachers should take actions.

Step 1. First things first, talk with student: Before doing anything else, teacher should talk with student regarding this issue. The conversation should be friendly, and encouraging rather than controlling. Teacher should inform the student about the issue and be firm that work should be done.

Step 2. Get student confirmation/signature: When a student stops submitting assignments, teachers should make sure that student acknowledges his/her action. This can be accomplished by simply having a short conversation with the student, marking the missing work in front of the student on gradebook, or getting the confirmation in writing. Even though this is not a general practice in schools, it can save lots of headache later on in difficult situations such as parents claiming assignment was completed on time etc.

Step 3. Call parents or send a note home: Especially for long term assignments, teachers should ensure that parents are informed about missing work. Asking students to return the written missing work notice with parent's signature is recommended. Teachers should not wait until the report card period assuming that it will alert parents for positive action.